Tag Archives: Mark Ndipita

Business

Malawi tobacco market extended to 2017: US$263 million realized

Maravi Post correspondent

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s tobacco marketing season which was expected to close on December 2, has been extended to the undisclosed date until all the green gold on the auction floors is sold.

The Maravi Post visit to Lilongwe Auction floors on Friday witnessed continual selling of the crop coupled with low prices and high rejection rate for both contract and auction tobacco farmers.

This is the second time the selling season has been extended after Tobacco Control Commission (TCC) prolonged the same in October this year.

Tobacco market extended
Tobacco market extended

According to AHL Group Corporate Affairs Manager Mark Ndipita, total of 182 million kilograms of tobacco has been sold in week 34 with the realization of US$263 million into government confers.

With the continual sending of green gold into three selling points; Mzuzu, Chinkhoma and Lilongwe, the authority has decided to extend the marketing season until all tobacco is sold.

TCC has however attributed dangling of the country’s green gold prices for past three years and 2016 inclusive marketing season to overproduction.

Overproduction of 30 million kilogram yearly has been registered mainly on burley tobacco which buyers are unable to fit in with their buying power.

For instance, this year buyers were looking for 132.5 million kilograms against an estimated local production of 165 million kilograms.

As a result tobacco buyers have already given 151 million kilogram ceiling of all types of tobacco in the next season.

This has prompted TCC to start enforcing strict quotas on farmers to remain within the required volume of tobacco in 2016/2017 growing season.

The new system which is dubbed as Farmers Management System (FMS) will require growers to provide information about their fields when applying for quota licenses.

Meanwhile, TCC has also extended the tobacco registration period of farmers for the 2016/2017 tobacco growing season to end December, 2016 due to shortage of registration cards.

The exercise which started in August was expected to end November 30, and as of November 29 about 63 growers had registered out of the targeted 150,000 farmers.

Malawi

High tobacco rejection rate worries Malawi tobacco farmers

Maravi Post correspondent
High rejection rate at auction floors
High rejection rate at auction floors

Tobacco is indeed an industry which drives the Malawi economy but of late, the industry has been dodged by various problems ranging from low tenants payments to low prices and high rejection rate.

Just on Wednesday, Kanengo Auction Floors closed down after farmers had protested of high rejection rate.

On Wednesday, rejection rate in Lilongwe tobacco Auction Floors had reached 78 % while in Mzuzu the rejection rate was 93%. The same problem in Limbe and Chinkhoma had reached 86.1 and 69.5 % respectively.

Two tobacco farmers interviewed in Lilongwe said they are worried with the tobacco double standards which buyers are playing.

Akim Banda from Bunda said he is worried that Tobacco buyers are rejecting the tobacco which is of good quality.

AHL Group Corporate Affairs Manager Mark Ndipita, in an interview confirmed about the rejection rate.

Ndipita said the development is indeed a worry to the Tobacco Farmers.

“These auction farmers have great responsibilities in their homes and they need money. It is unfortunate that tobacco farmers selling on auction system are undergoing through this experience which they did not anticipate”

But in a bid to ease the situation, Tobacco Control Commission(TCC) Chief executive officer Dr Albert Changaya says TCC is engaging tobacco buyers to a round table discussions in order to resolve the problem.